Description: German ovoid, cylindrical jug with attached small loop handle, turned and ribbed spout, and flat base. German stoneware potters developed and international market for their wares as early as the 16th century; the Rhineland area of Germany produced much of the utilitarian stoneware of England, the Netherlands, and early America. Brown and gray stonewares were their specialties; brown stonewares (buff colored clay coated with a layer of iron-rich slip) were made in the towns of Sieburg, Raren, and Freichen. German stoneware drinking vessels were extremely popular in the American colonies. The circa 1760 privy pit excavated on the property of Doctor Thomas Williams (1718-1775) of Deerfield contained at least three mugs and a chamberpot all made of gray "Westerwald" type stoneware. Very often these jug have the molded image of a bearded man called "bartmannkruge." This example is very plain, having no decoration; its ovoid or egg-shape points to an early 18th century date. The underside of base has characteristic spiraling associated with removing the pot from the wheel with a wire while it is still spinning on the wheel. The entire body is coated in a layer of brown slip which has been salt-glazed to create a mottled effect; there is some evidence of being fired next to other objects.
Subjects: Pottery; glaze (coating by location); Stoneware Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2000.24.3 |